Melbourne gain first win

D Walker, J Walker, Bell, Cooper, Buxton, Rice, Wiseall, A Judge, Cartwright, W Cresswell, A Hollingsworth, Bilson, Robinson, Moran, Woodburn, Porter, Sylvestor, Thompson, Webb, Awbry, Birch

First win, 21-12!
Melbourne 2nds entertained West Bridgford 3rds this past Saturday looking to not only record our first win of the season but to avenge the First XV’s defeat against Bridgford’s firsts the week before and, with a strong looking team, Melbourne were feeling confident. In the front row the Walker brothers were paired with Ulster’s finest, Steve Bell, with the ever-present Guy Cooper and Bucko forming a formidable engine-room partnership at lock. In the back-row, fresh off his recent disciplinary issues, resident club boozer, Al Judge, was a reassuring sight alongside the well-educated and well-travelled Chris Wiseall and Josh Rice. George Cartwright made his long-anticipated return at scrum-half with Will at 10, Dale and Al Hollingsworth in the centres and a strong back three of Sean, Kurtis and Ticknall Cricket Club’s off-spinning all-rounder, Rich Woodburn, at full-back. With an equally strong bench with plenty of depth, we looked a strong outfit and were confident of getting our first W on the board.
Melbourne started the first half with a strong gale at their backs and dominated early territory, playing at a frenetic pace and just lacking a bit of precision in key moments. The pack were working hard and supporting the back-line well but it was Bridgford who got on the scoreboard first, a grubber kick from Melbourne bouncing straight into the hands of their quick winger who dotted down under the posts, albeit with a very annoying swan-dive and one-finger salute to the heavens. (It was the only thing he did all game). Even with this early setback Melbourne came back stronger, again dominating possession and, despite getting several penalties in front of the posts, spurned the opportunity for 3 points to go for the big score, paying off when Al Judge crashed over from a quick tap-and-go, Will converting. After this early trade-off of scores Bridgford grew into the match and it was evident they had some strong runners in the centres, and following a handling error from the home side they moved the ball back and forth across the park, stretching the Melbourne defence to score under the posts, missing the conversion. All credit again to Melbourne, we picked ourselves up, led by some great line-breaks from Sean Moran off the left-wing and strong scrummaging from the pack. It was from a scrum that Melbourne scored their second try, Will Cresswell taking the ball hard to the gain-line before passing to Dale Bilson, who broke through the defence cleanly before being tackled by the Bridgford full-back, offloading superbly for Al H to dot down, the referee failing to spot that Al had gone over the dead-ball line by 3 metres. There were other chances for Melbourne to add to their lead, a great break and chip to the corner by Bucko at the end of the half almost ended in Kurtis adding to his season’s tally, and a tremendous show of gas from Chris Wiseall from a ruck deep in Melbourne’s half nearly ended in a score.
If the first half had demonstrated the attacking prowess of the home side it was clear that, playing into the wind in the second half, it was Melbourne’s defence which would face a stern test, and it was fair to say we passed this test with flying colours. Despite not leaving our own half for almost the whole of the second period Melbourne put in a fantastic effort to win the second half 7-0, the try coming from a great counter attack with multiple phases, resulting in Dale going over, converted by Will. The whole squad played their part and defended manfully, particular highlights being Al Judge’s work at the breakdown, the Walker brothers smashing everyone in sight, Bucko’s ‘quickness’ off the line (so quick he was practically playing 10 for Bridgford), Guy Cooper’s work-rate and impressive drift defence from the backs. There was great communication and some cracking hits going in from all, highlighted by Kurtis smashing his opposite wing out of the game. Also impressive was Webby, or Webbo, can’t remember which he prefers, who played scrum-half for the second-half, about 6 stone wet through but absolutely fearless, tackling everyone and running hard at gaps. (This was despite not initially coming on when asked, very Carlos Tevez). Melbourne’s defence was also aided by some odd attacking tactics from Bridgford, who were flinging the ball all over the place and attempting drop goals from 40 metres out, when the situation was crying out for some pick-and-go’s from the forwards.
However, that should not detract from what was ultimately a great performance. Thanks to everyone for being patient with regards to rotating players throughout the game, tried to be as fair as possible and get everyone involved at some point. Big thanks to Steve Bell for propping for 60 mins at short notice.
Man of the match, lots of candidates this week, far too hard for me to decide so I asked Club Treasurer Steve Hollingsworth, who awarded MoM to Guy Cooper for his rucking and general work-rate, reflective not only of Guy’s performance on the day but also his commitment and attitude all season long.